GRAY: Leila Mae Rodgers Vaughn, 104, passed away on Tuesday, April 9, 2013. The family greeted friends from 10:30 - 11:30 a.m., prior to a memorial service at 11:30 a.m., Friday, April 12, at Bridges Funeral Home in Gray, with the Rev. John Irwin, Dr. Wayne McDonald and the Rev. Curtis Jackson officiating. Interment was at a later date at West View Cemetery in Atlanta.

Leila Mae was born on April 12, 1908, and was the oldest of nine children of the late Joseph Thomas Rodgers and Leila Belle Jones Rodgers. She was a 1926 graduate of Commercial High School in Atlanta and was one of the first employees of Sears, Roebuck when the company opened in Atlanta. Mrs. Vaughn lived her first 95 years in Atlanta and had resided at Stone Brooke Suites in Gray for the past nine years. Leila Mae was a housewife, mother, and an artist with needle, thread and beads, as well as brush and pastels. She created many pieces of crochet, embroidery, needlepoint, quilting, and beadwork. Her delight in later years was making and sharing beaded angels with everyone around her. Leila Mae is also remembered for many Christmas ornaments she made and shared, which was a year-round project for her.

She was a member of Oak Grove United Methodist Church in Decatur, where she was active in the JOY Sunday School Class, and was a charter member of the Women’s Society of Christian Service, which became the United Methodist Women. In addition to her parents, Leila Mae was preceded in death by her husband of over 50 years, Samuel David Vaughn.

Leila Mae is survived by her daughters, Rebecca Phillips of Blairsville and Pat Bishop of Macon; grandchildren, Debbie and Emilio Iturrizaga of Lawrenceville, David and Michelle Phillips of Lee’s Summit, Mo., Ron and Karen Phillips of Saint Charles, Mo., Sandra Lea and Bryan Albers of Pulman, Wash., and Brian and Joleen Williams of Apex, N.C.; 12 great-grandchildren; sister, Mildred Rodgers Thurman of Atlanta; and by several nieces and nephews.

The family expresses their gratitude to the staff of Stone Brooke Suites in Gray and to EverCare Hospice.